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Protect your Apple iPhone XR with this orchid Evo Check Tech 21 smartphone case. Triple layer protection that includes impact-absorbing material keeps your device safe from falls as high as 12 feet up, and the precisely cut openings and buttons provide full functionality. This Tech 21 smartphone case doesn’t interfere with wireless connections.
Priced cheaper than the current 16GB version, the new phone reportedly could debut as soon as Tuesday, say various sources. Apple may aim to shake up the smartphone market with an 8GB iPhone 5C, according to several new reports. Citing information from two German blog sites and its own tipsters, MacRumors said on Monday that the 8GB phone will reportedly hit the market this week, possibly as early as Tuesday Evo Check Case for Apple iPhone XR – Purple. Available in the full gamut of 5C colors, the 8GB version would be the new entry-level iPhone model, said MacRumors. Apple currently offers the 5C in 16GB and 32GB variations..
Some analysts agree that demand will quickly grow to keep pace with new network construction and technologies capable of expanding network capacity. TeleGeography believes that general demand for bandwidth could grow 25 times over the next five years. The report also indicates that for every 50 percent reduction in the cost of bandwidth, ISPs have purchased 100 percent more capacity Evo Check Case for Apple iPhone XR – Purple. Analysts expect that demand for high-speed networks will quickly grow to keep pace with the burgeoning bandwidth market..
One of the new features included in Android 4.2 is the addition of widgets to the lock screen. These widgets (a total of five currently available) provide a preview of your inbox, the clock, messages, calendar, or a shortcut to your camera and a widget to quickly identify a song. You’ll, of course, need to be running Android 4.2 in order to have access to the widgets. That is, until developers figure out how to get it working on other Android versions, if they haven’t already. When you first wake the screen on your Android device, you’ll see a white line on either side of the screen. I wasn’t fast enough to get a screenshot of the lines flashing on the screen shortly after you wake the device. They’re there, then they’re not Evo Check Case for Apple iPhone XR – Purple. The lines indicate there’s more information on either side of the main screen..
Around 92 percent of more than 64,000 Facebook users have given the Messenger app a one-star rating on App Annie over the past month. Facebook’s Messenger app, which has shifted the social network’s instant-messaging features off the main mobile app and onto its own standalone program, has found its niche — among critics. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read Evo Check Case for Apple iPhone XR – Purple. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion..
This budding applications service provider (ASP) market has yet to make stronginroads to the corporate world, although free email and basic scheduling and address book functions have been a core part of consumer portals like Yahoo for more than a year. Microsoft itself has been one of the leading free email providers through its Hotmail service, and it also has its eyes on the ASP market Evo Check Case for Apple iPhone XR – Purple. Last month it said it would rent use of its Microsoft Office suite online through a business-focused arm of MSN..


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Major smartphone manufacturers have no problem putting their own “skin” on top of Android when releasing new devices. In a new development, Huawei appears to be working on something that is more than just skin deep for their future devices. Sources report the Chinese company is working on their own mobile operating system as a hedge against Google possibly changing the terms and conditions for the use of the Android operating system.
Details are scant regarding exactly how Huawei is going about this latest project. The company’s engineers could be building something from the ground up or they could be starting with Android as a base and developing their own custom ROM. The sources familiar with this secret operating system project say the work is being done by former engineers from Nokia.
These same sources indicate Huawei is working with designers on the EMUI interface layer for their devices to make them seem less like Apple or iOS devices. The idea is that as presently distributed consumers will see Huawei as just an Apple copycat, a criticism previously leveled at Huawei even on a smaller scale than their U.S. market plans call for in the future, unless they move to make their devices more distinct. The project to develop a full blown alternative to Android is apparently part of this overall effort to prep the company for a bigger role in the U.S. market.
The idea that Huawei might have to swap in something other than Android due to Google shenanigans seems a bit suspect, so the project could be one that never sees the light of day and is just an exercise in contingency planning. After the relative success of last year’s Nexus 6P that was produced by Huawei, it seems like the company would be on good terms with Google going forward. Of course, such thinking did not stop Google and Samsung from experiencing some tension, real or imagined, in the past and we even see Samsung staying away from Android Wear for their wearable devices.

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The club plans to upgrade cardio equipment, locker rooms and common areas in an effort to increase membership.
Kate Tracy is a BusinessDen reporter who covers startups, residential real estate, fitness and the outdoors industry. She is a graduate of Corban University. Email her at [email protected]
A pair of Pilates instructors are hoping to outmuscle the competition when they open The Fab Method at the end of February.
Colorado skiers could score big if this year’s best football players score low in Sunday’s Super Bowl.
“We overestimated the visibility of the site,” franchisee Chase Kintz said. “It did not get the exposure we wanted it to.”
Fresh off a $4 million capital raise, the Denver-based company will expand its training for individuals and companies working in security to Colorado Springs and Tampa in the next year.
Crescent Moon Snowshoes has been hard at work for two years making a foam snowshoe that kicks up the comfort a few notches.
Denver International Airport has landed one of the area’s prominent sellers of western wear for an exhibit celebrating Colorado’s frontier legacy.
A LoHi shirt and suit maker busting at the seams is about to slip into an office with a little more breathing room.
Yesterday marked the first day of the SnowSports Industries America Snow Show at the Colorado Convention Center.
Haibike’s sales director said Colorado’s attitude toward e-bikes was one of the deciding factors when it came time to relocate the company.


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The German luxury car maker Audi, which is owned by Volkswagen, wants to overtake domestic rivals BMW and Mercedes next year in the European market despite a market slump, a press report said on Monday.
"We are reinforcing our positions, while others are losing" ground, Audi sales director Peter Schwarzenbauer told the business daily Handelsblatt.
"We will have passed our main competitors in 2010" in terms of sales in the European market, he added.
Audi is already ahead of BMW and Mercedes, a division of Daimler, in China, and "the remaining markets will follow by 2015," Schwarzenbauer forecast.
Like other auto manufacturers, Audi has suffered from a sharp downturn in the global market, and expects unit sales to fall by around 10 percent this year from the record 2008 level of one million vehicles.
But Audi believes it will "come out of the crisis in better condition than many competitors," Schwarzenbauer said.
"Once the crisis has passed we will offer an extremely beoad range of high-end vehicles," and the group still planned to sell 1.5 million vehicles worldwide in 2015, the sales director added.
"Despite the crisis, we are investing in new products. There are no cutbacks" in that effort, he said.


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Research reveals that the majority of "malicious" websites are now legitimate sites that have been compromised by attackers.
The Websense Security Labs report says the number of legitimate websites compromised by attackers has surpassed those purposefully created by attackers.
Attackers know that compromising sites with generally good reputations can increase the success rate of attacks, said Websense.
For instance, last year, Websense discovered an attack launched within the United Nations' HIV/AIDS Asia Pacific portal.
In this case, when visitors opened the United Nations website, unprotected users inadvertently downloaded a Trojan horse that infected their computers with malicious code.
Victims became unknowing participants in a larger bot network that attackers could use for future malicious attacks, posing a risk to both personal computer users and businesses.
Last September, Websense says it was first to find the Web 2.0-based "Phast Phlux Phishing" attack on the social networking site MySpace.
After MySpace announced increased measures to protect users from online threats, many users were compromised by this scam that stole confidential user login credentials for malicious purposes.


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- Facebook and Google are often referred to as 'walled gardens' by advertisers since they typically restrict usage of their data by advertisers to their own platforms.
- On Thursday Facebook said it would be willing to bend on how some of its data is used in advertising campaigns outside of its own walls.
- The company said that such theoretical data sharing would have to be facilitated by a third party. And it wouldn't be willing to make such a move alone.
Facebook said it's willing to knock down some of the walls from its garden. But it won't go it alone.
The social networking giant, along with Google, gets hammered a ton in ad circles for hoarding its data behind "walled gardens." The complaint among ad buyers is, as much as each company possesses incredibly powerful data that can be used for ad targeting, that data is kept inside each company's walls to a degree.
So an advertiser that wants to figure out how many customers its signing up from ads on one platform can't easily match that data up with how their ads are performing on the other.
To date, neither company has budged much on this stance, as data is such a strategic advantage for each.
But at a press event on Thursday morning, Brad Smallwood, VP of measurement and insights at Facebook, said the company would be willing to deliver some of its ad data to a neutral third party. With the help of an independent player, advertisers could then theoretically reconcile which consumers are responding to which ads across Facebook, Google, and any other data rich platform - and be a lot more strategic about how they spend their ad budgets.
The operative word being: theoretically.
Smallwood told reporters that breaking the data silos is something Facebook is working on. "It's the biggest ask we get," he said. "The challenge is how to do it ... you need an independent third party."
So does that means a data-sharing plan is plan is in the works and a third party has been tapped to help? Not quite. When pressed by Business Insider, Smallwood said that while Facebook is willing to tackle this issue, nothing is imminent. And nobody, including Facebook, wants to take such a leap without assurances that others are on board.
"We can't do it alone," he said. "We think it would be better for the industry, including us ... I can't speak for Google."
For its part, Google says it is indeed helping marketers use better use ad targeting data outside its own properties. "We've given agencies and advertisers access to more data than ever before with the launch of Ads Data Hub last year," said Brad Bender, VP of Product Management, Google, "They can use it to manage data from a variety of sources -both Google and non-Google data."
Beyond a potential data collaboration initiative, Facebook announced a number of measurement-related moves on Thursday. The company is paring down the number of metrics that are automatically available via Facebook's Ads Manager product.
The company is also adding more language to that tool to make it clear what metrics are absolute, which are based on estimates, and which are "in development" and subject to being changed over time. Facebook has gotten some rough press of late after uncovering some errors in its metrics dashboard, as well as an embarrassing report last September that showed how Facebook's ad planning tools was promising advertisers that the platform can reach more people than actually live in the US.
In response to these issues, Facebook put together a measurement council roughly a year ago that includes representatives from big ad agencies and marketers. Ed Gaffney, who heads up research for the ad buying firm GroupM, said that those gatherings have been illuminating, and Facebook has been more responsive to advertiser needs.
"Understanding what data you've got, and how it was calculated, is the key thing going forward," he said. Of course, when it come to data, "We always want more," he said.


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Tesla Inc. is aiming at a “steady” production run-rate of 6,000 Model 3 sedans a week by the end of the year, and will run its California assembly plant around the clock and hire hundreds of new employees to achieve the goal, according to an email reported to be from Chief Executive Elon Musk.
In the email, Musk said that the recent planned factory stoppages at the Gigafactory in Nevada and at the Fremont, Calif., plant will equip both for a “comprehensive set of upgrades” that would set Tesla TSLA, -3.27% up for Model 3 production of 3,000 to 4,000 sedans next month. Another set of factory upgrades in late May would “unlock capacity” for 6,000 Model 3 sedans by the end of June, according to the email. Tesla stock gained about 2.5% in after-hours trading Tuesday following the original publication of the email by Elektrek.
The email is part pep talk, part goal-setting and peppered with known Musk quirks like his apparent strong dislike of long meetings and acronyms. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation that the email came from Musk and was directed to all employees.
Tesla has aimed to produce 5,000 Model 3 units a week by the end of the second quarter, after previously pulling down more ambitious targets, but Musk wrote that Tesla would be building a cushion. Tesla would be able to achieve a “steady” 6,000-a-week rate a few months later, according to the email.
“Any Tesla department or supplier that is unable to do this will need to have a very good explanation why not, along with a plan for fixing the problem and present that to me directly,” the email read.
As part of the 6,000-a-week goal, the Fremont factory “will move to 24/7 operations,” with another shift added to assembly, body and paint, according to the email. Between the Gigafactory and the Fremont plant, Tesla would be hiring about 400 people a week for several weeks, the email said.
Musk also addressed one of the most prevalent criticisms of Tesla among investors, its expenses. Tesla will be “far more rigorous” about expenditures, with any expenses or sets of related expenses that reach more than $1 million paused until “explicitly” approved by Musk, according to the email.
Musk also took a dig at contractors, calling their web of companies a “Russian nesting doll” of subcontractors, with many doing little work. There’s also a “wide range of contractor performance,” the email read, “from excellent to worse than a drunken sloth.”
Musk also offered what he called “productivity recommendations,” which warned against too many, too long meetings and conference calls (“it is not rude to leave”), the use of acronyms, and “chain of command” type of communication.
“We are burning the midnight oil to burn the midnight oil,” it ended.


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GULF SHORES, Alabama --- The Harvest–A Festival of Gifts will hold a pumpkin decorating contest as part of this year's event. Individuals, businesses, school classes and church groups are encouraged to participate.
Judged categories will include: “Most Creative,” “Best of Show” and “Gotta Love It.” The contest is open to all ages and skill levels. Pumpkin entry is free of charge and cash prizes will be awarded to the winner of each category.
Participants are encouraged to be creative in their decorations but no carving is allowed. Some ideas include turning a pumpkin into an animal, storybook character, movie character or object. Decorated pumpkin participants are asked to deliver pumpkins to the festival by 9:30 a.m. to be eligible for judging.
The fourth annual Harvest Festival will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 3 at the south campus of Gulf Shores United Methodist Church. The platinum sponsor of this year’s festival is Precision Imaging. The decorated pumpkin contest is being sponsored by Household Pest Control.
The festival will showcase original works by more than 35 artists and crafters, offer holiday gifts, a silent auction, a sweet shop, a kid’s corner featuring free Eddie Boy’s ice cream, Jay Everett the Hula Hoop Guy, and free holiday photos by Michelle White Originals. Admission is free. The first 200 shoppers will receive a free shopping bag donated by Josh Wild State Farm. Winn Dixie of Gulf Shores will be outside grilling hot dog lunches and ribs to go.
All proceeds from the event will benefit the participating local artists and Gulf Shores United Methodist Church Mother’s Day Out and Preschool ministry. For more information regarding the Decorated Pumpkin Contest call 251-747-6750 or email email@example.com.
For more information about the Harvest Festival visit www.gulfshoresumc.org and www.facebook.com/TheHarvestFestival.


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Culver’s sales to benefit American Red Cross
Culver’s in Holland Township will give 10 percent of its proceeds on Tuesday to the American Red Cross.
Culver’s, 3035 West Shore Drive, has declared Tuesday it’s “Day of Giving.” Sales will benefit disaster relief efforts for areas affected by tornadoes and floods this spring.
Since March 31, the American Red Cross has launched 42 relief operations in 29 states. More than 12,000 trained disaster relief workers have been deployed.


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Published on May 11th, 2021 | by Daniel Sherman Fernandez0
VW Amarok Pickup Truck Might Be Launched In Malaysia
With Amarok assembly starting in Pakistan this is very possible.
About 10 years ago Volkswagen decided to go into the booming pickup truck segment by launching their own version and it was called the Amarok. Shortly after it global launch, Volkswagen Malaysia invited us to Hanover, Germany to meet this truck in person and take it on tarmac and off road to evaluate its ability.
Amarok Test Drive
After a day with the Amarok, we were impressed with its off road ability and rather handsome styling. However, it carried a very basic and utilitarian cabin which did not justify its high estimated asking price (targeted at the time to be from RM150k). The Japanese pickup truck brands were much lower priced with much better cabin fit and features and so the VW Amarok launch was shelved.
Amarok Assembly Plans
Now comes news from media sources in Pakistan that the Volkswagen Group will be constructing a brand new factory and assembly facility in the city of Balochistan, Pakistan. Local news mentioned that this is VW Group’s entry into the fast growing region, Pakistan, India and also Bangladesh.
‘The Volkswagen assembly plant will be constructed in approximately 2 years,’ it reported. This news follows the November 2018 signing of a joint venture between Volkswagen AG and Pakistan’s Premier Motors Ltd (PML) to assemble commercial vehicles that come from VW’s factory in Hanover, Germany.
According to an official from the company, the project, spanning over 900,000 square feet, will require an estimated investment of 4-5 billion rupees to complete.
The Volkswagen assembly plant will have the capacity to produce 28,000 vehicles per annum. This will mark a new milestone for the auto-brand in the Pakistani market.
Under the agreement between Volkswagen AG and Premier Motors Ltd, the company will invest USD135 million in a bid to make new vehicles and set up an assembly unit in Pakistan.
The German auto manufacturer of electric vehicles and more will reportedly manufacture its latest Amarok pickup truck and its very popular VW Transporter Van (which has been around since 2015) in Pakistan. The Amarok truck will be priced to compete against the Toyota Hilux and Isuzu D-Max in Pakistan. Meanwhile, the multi purpose Transporter van (people mover) will be competing against the current favorites, the Hyundai Grand Starex and KIA Grand Carnival in the local market.
Amarok In Malaysia
With Volkswagen investing for the pickup and MPV/VAN segment, it will not be long after that the Amarok and Transporter will be shipped to Malaysia as currently both these vehicles are not sold in Malaysia and there is growing market for both vehicle types.
Price is always an issue and so with assembly in Pakistan, we will be getting the same quality as the current long selling Volkswagen Polo hatchback and Vento sedan which is assembled in PUNE, India.
Not to the same standard of quality and parts that European buyers will accept, but us ‘third world’ buyers should and would accept without a fuss.


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One week from tomorrow, we’ll open up the doors to our East Coast developers event, FinDEVr New York (tickets available here and you can save 10% with the promo code FinDEVrBlog). On March 21 and 22, dozens of companies will hit the stage at the Metropolitan Pavilion to show off their newest tool, platform, or API to the developer community.
At FinDEVr, the folks sitting next to you in the audience are just as important as the companies. With hours of networking opportunities, you’ll be able to connect with a variety of fintech-focused developers, engineers, product developers, CTOs, and more, to get a taste of what others in the community are working on. Check out the variety of folks in attendance:
We’re looking forward to seeing everyone in New York next week!
FinDEVr New York 2017 is sponsored by Google Cloud.
We are partnered with American Banker, BayPay Forum, BiometricUpdate.com, Breaking Banks, Byte Academy, Canadian Trade Commissioner Service, Celent, CIOReview, Cointelegraph, Colloquy, CooperPress, Distributed, Economic Journal, Empire Startups, Femtech Leaders, Finmaps, Fintech Finance, Harrington Starr, Level39, Mercator Advisory Group, The Paypers, Plug and Play Tech Center, SecuritySolutionsWatch.com, Swiss Finance + Technology Association, and Women Who Code.


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CHICAGO — In an effort to accelerate growth and generate "strong, sustainable shareholder value," Mondelēz International Inc. plans to divest its developed market gum business. The company also disclosed its intention to divest its global Halls business.
Mondelēz stated it will continue to operate other brands and products within its candy business, as well as its emerging market gum business.
These moves are part of the company's strategy, where it now expects 3% to 5% organic net revenue growth, up from previous guidance of 3%-plus.
"Our competitive advantages in the marketplace and focused strategy on global snacking leadership give us great confidence in our ability to sustain strong top- and bottom-line growth for many years to come," said Dirk Van de Put, chairman and CEO, Mondelēz. "Building on our category leadership, favourable geographic footprint, and the power of our iconic brands, we are well positioned for stronger growth in the decade ahead."
Mondelēz will continue to prioritize growth, execution and culture as three pillars of its strategy. It will invest in differentiated marketing and sales capabilities, while strengthening its local-first operating model to further empower employees and promote a growth culture. The company also is elevating sustainability to become a fourth pillar in its long-term growth strategy. By further advancing its "Snacking Made Right" agenda across a focused set of environmental, social and governance priorities, Mondelēz aims to help drive positive change at scale.
Mondelēz has a long-term vision to generate 90% of revenue in chocolate and biscuits, including baked snacks.
"Chocolate and biscuits are attractive and historically durable categories in both developed and emerging markets, with significant headroom to increase penetration and per capita consumption," the company stated in a news release.
Mondelēz will strengthen its presence in its core categories in major markets by building on existing distribution, expanding in high-growth channels and leveraging its brands to establish multi-category leadership positions.
Mondelēz expects to drive further value through organic growth and targeted acquisitions that expand its presence in chocolate, biscuits and baked snacks by filling geographic gaps and expanding into under-represented segments and price tiers. The eight acquisitions Mondelēz has completed or announced since 2018 add $2 billion in annual revenue, and have had an average growth rate in the high single digits, the company revealed.
"Our growth ambition will not be possible without the passion, dedication and commitment of our people, the very best in the consumer-packaged goods industry," Van de Put said. "To accelerate our growth and focus, we are taking our talent and culture strategy to the next level by doubling down on initiatives to advance diversity, equity and inclusion; expanding investment in top talent programs; and rolling out a global, holistic employee well-being program."
Added Luca Zaramella, Mondelēz's chief financial officer, "Consistent delivery against our financial commitments, investment in the long-term health of our brands and the capabilities of our people, combined with our key competitive advantages, position us well to create significant value for our stakeholders."
Chicago-based Mondelēz International Inc. had 2021 net revenues of approximately $29 billion. It is known for many brands, including Oreo, belVita and LU biscuits; Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka and Toblerone chocolate.
Originally published at Convenience Store News - U.S.


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The Japanese daily Chunichi Shimbun (via Reuters) reports that Toyota is focusing on this technology, distinct from lithium-ion batteries, in an effort to market a auto with a significantly longer range and a shorter recharge time.
Toyota has chose to sell the new model in Japan as early as 2022, the paper said. The Chunichi Shimbun reported that Toyota's battery will be able to charge in a few minutes and have a long range, but the article did not list specifics.
Hunt for Swiss chainsaw attacker widens
The border to Germany is located a few miles north of where the attack took place and an global arrest warrant has been issued. Revising earlier statements , police said one CSS employee was seriously injured and the other was slightly injured.
Japan's biggest automaker is looking to close the gap with EV leaders such as Nissan Motor Co and Tesla Inc as battery-powered cars gain traction around the globe as a viable emission-free alternative to conventional cars.
Toyota has been a bit late to the battery electric vehicle (BEV), preferring top focus on hybrids, which has definitely worked, and on fuel cell hydrogen cars - which haven't yet. "2022 is ages away, and a lot can change in the meantime".
Charlie Gard's Parents Make Agonizing Decision to Turn Off Life Support
The 11-month-old has a rare genetic condition, and his parents want to take him to America to receive an experimental treatment . Why did Charlie's parents seek legal intervention? It remained unclear exactly when Charlie's life support would be removed.
Reuters noted all-solid-state batteries are safer than lithium-ion batteries because they use solid electrolytes instead of liquid ones. How quickly the new EVs will catch on would also depend largely on battery costs.
In the past Toyota hasn't been very supportive of fully electric vehicles and instead chose to push its energy towards fuel cell vehicles, like the Mirai. Solid-state batteries can be made smaller and lighter than the lithium-ion batteries that now power electric vehicles, but engineering such a battery at an attractive price point for mass production has been a challenge.
Warriors' Draymond Green sued over alleged assault
Green issued a statement on Tuesday downplaying the incident. "I spent the whole night crying", Williams said Tuesday. The suit arose from a series of incidents that allegedly took place near Michigan State University past year .
The automaker plans to start mass production of electric vehicles in China by 2019.


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With the Lenovo Legion Y700, Lenovo has introduced a new gaming tablet for the Chinese market. The tablet seems to be aimed at mobile gamers who are looking for a screen larger than that of gaming smartphones. The company has not announced a launch date for the tablet and has yet to release the full specs of the device as well. The Lenovo Legion Y700 has an 8.8-inch display with high refresh and touch sampling rates. The display has a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 pixels.
Lenovo visited Weibo to introduce the Legion Y700 gaming tablet. Its 8.8-inch display has a refresh rate of 120 Hz and supports 100 percent DCI-P3 color space. The display also has a touch sampling rate of 240 Hz for low input lag. The tablet has somewhat thick bezels held horizontally, which should ensure a comfortable grip when gaming. The reveal shows the Legion Y700 with a single camera sensor on the back with an LED flash. The back wall appears to have a brushed metal design.
A recent report from ITHome claims that live photos of the Lenovo Legion Y700 surfaced on Weibo to suggest JBL speakers on the tablet enhanced by Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision technologies. Further specifications and functions of the new Lenovo gaming tablet as well as the sale date and the price will be announced.
The company unveiled the Lenovo Tab 6 5G in October, which is expected to be released early next year. It is equipped with a 10.3-inch TFT display with a resolution of 1,200 x 1,920 pixels. It is powered by the Snapdragon 690 5G SoC. The tablet has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of onboard storage (expandable up to 1 TB). It is equipped with an 8-megapixel camera on the back and an 8-megapixel selfie shooter. Lenovo Tab 6 5G is packed with kid-friendly features like “Kids Space” for preschoolers and a “learning mode” for elementary school students. It also comes with Google Family Link so parents can monitor their children’s activities on the tablet.
Follow Gadgets 360 on Twitter, Facebook, and Google News for the latest technical news and reviews. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest gadget and tech videos.
A Russian court said Twitter was fined 3 million rubles for not deleting prohibited content


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Business in the trades and construction sector often have issues with cash flow, and fixing those issues means figuring out how to get paid faster.
If you’re an artist or work in a role that supports the arts industry, here are some of the major areas of funding and stimulus that may be available to you.
One of Australia’s largest industries, the arts continues to be deeply impacted by closed borders and social distancing restrictions.
Cafés have been among the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. But what’s the future look like for our caffeine makers?
COVID-19 has impacted some sectors harder than others. Rather than wither, business owners in the beauty industry have demonstrated their passion and creativity to maintain their position.
Understanding the various delivery models and service providers available to you as a hospitality business owner may help you get ahead of the competition.
Lockdown may be easing, but the current climate is a far cry from last year’s. Here’s how the trades sector can better market to consumers during this time.
In the post-lockdown environment, full of uncertainty, one thing is certain: the ability to generate B2B leads, and convert them, is tantamount to success.


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All The News that is fit to EAT!
Posted by Carissa Team Tink Staffer 0 Comment(s) Add a Comment
11/10/2013 08:12 PM
Greetings from Tink World!
Get out your winter coats, scarves, gloves and hats! They are calling for some really cold weather this week. We certainly aren’t excited about weather in the 20’s. When it hits the mid to low 20’s, that means it’s time to winterize the farm.
Winterizing means making sure all the cows have hay to get through the cold nights, making sure all pipes are insulated, busting the ice that forms on the water troughs, putting hay in the barn for piglets to sleep on, you get the idea. It means making sure the animals are ready for the cold night and can get to water the next day. Plus, the humans have to be sure to have firewood to warm the house. Let’s just say that we are big fans of winter.
On a different note, we all know that corporations are in our pockets. There are ten corporations that own the majority of things we buy, from food to household item to clothes. Until I saw the chart, I had no idea that Nestle owned Ralph Lauren and several other high end clothing brands. The upside is that the more you support small, local farms, the less money the “Big 10” makes. So, keep supporting guys like us and we’ll see things continue to change.
Kellogg’s has already seen a change in their customers buying habits. They have recently announced that they are going to restructure their company. One article I read said that Kellogg’s has taken a hit due to the change in the public’s eating. More people now purchase yogurt instead of cereal. So, keep voting with your fork and we’ll see other companies scramble to stay current. Maybe they’ll change with us, doubtful, but one can dream.
As for markets, Team Tink will be at the Decatur Farmers Market on Saturday, November 16. The market hours are still 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Plus, you can find us on Athens and Augusta Locally Grown and at Nature’s Garden Delivered .
Well, that’s all for now. Have a great week and we’ll see you at the market!


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New York-based Brookfield unburdened itself of an even bigger problem across the street in April, when it handed over Water Tower Place, the big vertical mall at 835 N. Michigan Ave., to its lender through a so-called deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. Brookfield had explored a redevelopment of the nine-story mall but ultimately decided that the time, effort and money required for the task weren’t worth it. Water Tower also had lost so much value that it was worth less than the $300 million-plus owed on the property.
Without any tenants, the building at 830 N. Michigan also is worth a lot less than it was. Brookfield took it over through its 2018 acquisition of GGP, which paid $166 million for the property in 2013. The property’s fortunes took a turn for the worse in 2019, when Topshop closed its store there. Another tenant, Columbia Sportswear, closed its ground-floor store there in the early months of the pandemic, followed by the Uniqlo closure last August.
“While we are exploring the sale of the property, there is no buyer identified,” a Brookfield spokeswoman wrote in an email. She declined to answer questions.
Identifying a buyer won’t be easy in the current market. North Michigan Avenue is Chicago’s premier shopping district and one of the city’s biggest tourist destinations, but retailers and investors have soured on the boulevard since the beginning of pandemic. A rise in shootings and other violent crimes in the area have hurt the Mag Mile’s image—a recent panel formed to explore ideas to turn around the shopping district cited public safety as their top concern.
About a quarter of all Mag Mile retail space is vacant today, but optimists can find encouraging signs. Most recently, Aritzia, a Canadian women’s apparel chain, leased the former Gap store at 555 N. Michigan Ave., the biggest retail lease on the boulevard since 2015.
Brookfield also owns the property at 605 N. Michigan Ave., a four-story vintage office and retail property whose tenants include Sephora and Chase. The building is 100% leased, according to real estate information provider CoStar Group.
Though North Michigan Avenue is struggling, 830 N. Michigan is still prime real estate, and it could attract interest from developers interested in tearing down the existing building and constructing a high-rise in its place.
The question is whether the building would fetch a price high enough that would allow Brookfield to pay off its mortgage on the property. The $85 million loan from a unit of New York-based MetLife—also the lender on, and now owner of, Water Tower Place—matured in July 2020, according to Cook County property records. But Brookfield negotiated a one-year extension, also agreeing to pay down the balance of the loan to $73 million. The maturity date has been extended once again, according to a person familiar with the loan who declined to be identified.


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3D foot scanner reveals health risks for high-heel fashion slavesÂ (2:31)
It’s long been known that women who wear high-heels on a daily basis risk ankle and foot damage but now medical specialists can show high-heel wearers exactly how the shoes are impacting their health. A new 3D scanner at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in north London is set to transform the way doctors diagnose and treat foot and ankle problems. Matthew Stock has more.
via 3D foot scanner reveals health risks for high-heel fashion slaves | Video | Reuters.com.


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Outgoing Twitter CEO Elon Musk recently named former NBC Universal advertising boss Linda Yaccarino as his successor. He initially announced the news in a cryptic tweet stating that a female boss would commence the role in six weeks, before confirming Yaccarino’s appointment the following day.
Twitter has been in a state of flux ever since Musk bought the platform late last year and advertisers are rumoured to have been fleeing ever since, although Musk refutes these claims.
Following the news, some experts think Yaccarino’s appointment could see the social media platform get back on track and regain advertisers’ trust, despite the fact Musk will remain with the platform as an executive and Chief Technical Officer.
Yaccarino spent over a decade at NBC Universal, where her team has generated upwards of $100m in ad sales since 2011.
Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2023
My role will transition to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops.
Twitter is signalling that it is strengthening its advertising credentials
Among these optimistic experts is Jenny Tsai, founder and CEO of influencer effectiveness solution, WeArisma. Tsai suggested that the appointment of a well-respected businesswomen like Yaccarino, who possesses many long-standing relationships with advertisers, indicates Twitter is ready to be taken seriously again.
She told PMW: “With the hire of new CEO Linda Yaccarino, who is extensively experienced in the traditional media sector as well as digital marketing, Twitter is signalling that it is strengthening its advertising credentials to become more attractive to advertisers and again compete with other social media platforms.”
Musk said from the outset that he wouldn’t be Twitter’s long-term CEO and even created a poll late last year asking whether or not he should step down to which 57% of users said yes.
Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
Yaccarino appears to be have gained Musk’s faith as someone “foolish enough to take the role” and although it appears to be a step in the right direction for the platform attempting to climb back into relevance, advertisers will likely remain trepidatious and try to evaluate just how much control Musk plans on handing over to his new CEO before reinvesting.
Only time will tell if this former NBC Universal staffer is the lifeline Twitter’s allegedly faltering ad revenue has been looking for.


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It seems that AT&T has strived to have the fastest data rates since the iPhone became available on their network. Ever since AT&T’s EDGE data rates were tested to be a few times faster than the competition in 2007, it appears they have kept up the trend of having the
Simplify Media — makers of computer-to-iPhone music streaming music apps — announced last week that they've decided to take their technology "in a new direction" and has pulled all applications from the App Store. According to a post on their blog, the decision to remove the apps was done in order to focus on re-launching the technology at some point in the future. Current owners will still be able to use the service for "at least" three more months, although new account creation will be disabled shortly.
Past and present users of Simplify will likely agree that, while the service is useful, it's not very reliable. Simplify has chosen to not share their future plans, although we're guessing that a stronger, more reliable version of the service is in the cards for the future.
Simplify Media has released its remote iTunes music streaming app, Simplify Media Mobile, to the App Store. The application first made its debut as an app for jailbreakers only. Since then, Simplify has improved the app substantially and now offers users the ability to carry around a seemingly infinite amount of music.


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SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. has signed a long-term lease to occupy the grocery anchor store at Papago Plaza.
Sprouts (Nasdaq: SFM) will slide into a 23,000-square-foot space at the base of a 172-space, two-story parking garage above it at the shopping center being redeveloped in Scottsdale. With a lease secured, owner Pivot Development expects construction of the grocery store and garage to kick off in early 2023 with an opening date sometime in 2024.
Sprouts will have frontage, signage and visibility on Scottsdale Road.
“The neighborhood has long requested a high-quality grocer,” said Lee Mashburn, president of Pivot Development, said in a statement. “We are very excited to satisfy the request of nearby residents and businesses. The intersection of Scottsdale and McDowell roads is highly desirable since it offers access to thousands of residents and businesses. More than 4,000 new residential units are being built in the surrounding area.”


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Realising a circular economy is now a non-negotiable. Where once it was a concept few had heard of within the worlds of business and policy, it’s now enshrined in law, and a key part of business strategy. But the process to implement it will be smoother for some industries than others. For those who produce, collect and recycle flexible packaging – think pouches, films and shrink wraps – the way forward is not always clearcut.
It’s one of those gargantuan tasks with so many moving parts that it’s challenging to monitor, requiring action across numerous sectors and geographies. With many strategies and technologies all playing their part, from extended producer responsibility schemes (EPR) to chemical recycling, a scenario which sees all flexible packaging in Europe collected, sorted and recycled, is multifaceted. But how far along are we towards this goal?
In terms of EPR, if there was a face to represent this concept for Europe, it would be Joachim Quoden. He is the managing director of the Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance, a network of 27 different EPR schemes, mostly in Europe. With 28 years experience, he’s seen the concept evolve, expand, and become a key lever in creating a circular economy for packaging. “In the past, the focus was on fulfilling recycling targets. But in the last two or three years, the focus shifted a bit,” he says. Now we are trying more and more to ensure circularity in general, and that means that we target all packaging.” Indeed, EPR for packaging will become obligatory in the EU by the end of 2024, under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. At the moment, France and the UK are lagging behind in terms of setting up these schemes, but otherwise, says Quoden, the majority of EU countries have done so.
But of course, EPR is but one tool in the toolbox. “A circular system is provided by EPR, but the major job of industry is to produce packaging which of course can be recycled,” he says. Which leads us to Sun Chemical, the multi-national company which is attempting to do precisely that. The company supplies pigments, printing inks, coatings and adhesives, primarily to the packaging industry and Nikola Juhasz is their global technical director for sustainability. “There are a number of technologies we’re implementing that can help enhance recyclability,” she says. Some of these include replacing the plastic layer in a multi-layer packaging with a coating, so fewer materials are used, easing the burden on recycling sorting technology. They’ve also developed inks that can be more easily removed, and don’t cause colour contamination. These sorts of upstream strategies will pave the way for a smoother process and increased value captured downstream, adds Jusasz.
There are plenty of technologies being piloted at the sortation level and in conjunction with packaging producers – digital watermarking, for example, and glues optimised for recycling – but these sorts of technologies are not widespread. The lack of adequate recycling technology to sort and process flexible packaging at scale represents one of the biggest challenges to overcome. And in order to meet overall EU recycling targets, a rollout of more sophisticated technology will be necessary. According to a report by ETH Zurich, in order to achieve the EU’s 55% target, sorting capacity will need to increase by a factor of 2.6 and recycling by almost a factor of five.
Collection – the ultimate chicken and egg situation?
One of the pieces of this puzzle, which stakeholders across the value chain are busily trying to crack, is collection – because if it’s not collected in the first place, well, we are nowhere really.
Recently, a workshop was held by CEFLEX to formulate a unified stance on what the ideal collection system might look like, with key stakeholders from across the value chain chipping in. Along with the continued development of sorting technologies, the consensus was that it’s preferable for flexible packaging to be collected separately, although, if necessary, it can be combined with rigid plastics, metal and beverage cartons. Such a segregated system means less contamination at sorting stage, and in an ideal world, higher rates of recycling.
For companies who use a significant volume of flexible packaging, Mars for example, the collection point is a sticky one. “It is a chicken and egg situation,” explains global sustainable packaging manager, Feliks Bezati. It costs more to collect and sort flexible packaging than what it is worth on the open market. EPR programmes are nevertheless in place, but as yet, the market for flexibles is limited. While we wait for it to catch up, there is a shared responsibility from all stakeholders to continue to do their part, says Bezati. So for Mars, this means a 25% reduction in virgin plastics and 30% recycled content in their plastic packaging by 2025and continuing to participate in EPR schemes.
And this is where chemical recycling comes in. Although more expensive than mechanical recycling, chemical recycling needs to be part of the mix of strategies, argues Bezati. In this method, instead of materials being sorted, pulled apart, washed and melted down, materials are broken down to their original chemical building blocks. Contamination is less of a concern in this process, and importantly, in order to create food-grade recycled flexible plastics, it’s essential. “In our case, we don’t have a choice. If we want to get back this material to be used in our packaging (and we have committed that we’ll use 30% recycled plastics), our only option is chemical recycling,” he says.
And not to be forgotten in all of this are of course, consumers and the strategies municipalities can take to encourage high levels of participation in recycling. Vanya Veras is the secretary general of Municipal Waste Europe and has seen municipalities achieve success through a method called pay-as-you-throw (PAYT). “As a consumer, if you know you’re paying for what you put in your mixed waste bag, you will put as little in there as possible and as much as possible in your packaging waste bin and in your food waste,” she says.
There are a few ways to implement PAYT. In Belgium, for example, the consumer purchases designated bags – waste will not be collected unless presented in these bags. And in places like the Netherlands, Slovenia and some parts of Germany, for example, underground bins are unlocked via an ID card, waste bags are put in, but at a restricted volume, and the bill is sent to your home.
And does charging for waste in this way get the desired results? “When fees are introduced, there is a public outcry but it is a temporary thing. It takes maybe six months of complete chaos,” says Veras. And then? Things settle down and recycling rates go up. In one study conducted in the Italian city of Ferrara, for example, after a PAYT scheme was introduced, recycling rates went up by 40%.
With such a mixed bag of solutions and approaches, it can feel like there are almost too many avenues to explore. Too much complexity and nuance to grasp the full picture of what it will take to see all flexible packaging moving in a circular loop. Waste policy, of course, will also be instrumental. Targets for recycling of plastic packaging under the Waste Framework Directive have been increased significantly, from 22.5% to 50% by 2025, for instance.
But while all of these wheels are in motion, with each party absorbed in tackling their part of the challenge, convening organisations like CEFLEX exist to keep collaboration top of mind and accelerate technical solutions at scale. Because many hands, and many determined stakeholders, hopefully, make light work.


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The App Store is Apple’s only distribution channel for iPhone and iPad apps. Apple and Google have both charged 30% in commission fees until recently. Both companies have halved the cost for small businesses and independent app developers after lawsuits, such as Epic Games’ claim that Apple had an illegal market monopoly in 2020.
Epic Games has lost, but Apple’s App store changes are now on hold. Apple and Epic Games are both appealing. Epic Games filed a similar lawsuit against Google that is scheduled to be tried in 2023. App stores have rules about privacy, security, and even the types of apps that can be created.
Third-party app stores may have different rules that are more flexible and allow developers to retain more money.
Google and Apple are said to sometimes “sherlock” independent developers. The developer creates an app and then the platform embeds its features into the operating system, effectively killing their product.
It’s not as simple as you might think to make money by developing a mobile application. Shutterstock
FlickType is a third-party Apple Watch and iPhone keyboard. Apple reportedly told the developer shortly after that Apple Watch keyboards were not permitted. They then announced the feature .
A minimum viable product can cost between US$40,000 to US$300,000. Some apps can take a lot longer to develop.
A group of UK developers filed a collective action lawsuit for PS1.5 billion in 2021 against Apple regarding its store fees. The UK will hear the case.
The European Commission told Apple that it had abused its position, distorted competition, and distorted the industry of music streaming. The restrictions placed on app developers also prevent them from telling users about alternative apps with lower prices.
Spotify, for example, argues that it is unfair when Apple creates a music application. Apple, the company that runs the Apple Store, requires them to pay Apple 15% or 30% of their revenues. Up until recently, Apple prohibited Spotify from informing users of cheaper subscription options (such as by subscribing through the service’s web site).
The UK Competition and Markets Authority’s report highlighted concerns about the tech giants creating barriers to competition and innovation. Apple’s monopoly on native app downloads for iOS devices is a key finding. Their full study will be released in June 2022. The UK government has promised to introduce new legislation “when Parliamentary time permits.”
Alternative app stores
By Spring 2023 , the EU’s Digital Markets Act may be in effect. The legislation aims to encourage mobile platforms to be more open by allowing users to install apps from other stores. It also seeks to ensure that app store providers do not favor their offerings over those of third-party developers.
A US Senate panel approved in February 2022, a bill which aims to rein app shops.
The Play Store is available on almost every Android phone by default, meaning that the apps are accessible to a much larger number of users. The Play Store, however, is installed by default on most Android phones. This means that the apps on the Play Store can reach a larger audience.
Google (which reviews apps from developers before they are made available) and Apple (which examines the apps of developers before making them accessible) have both been heavily criticized for their lack of transparency, consistency, and general inequity. Independent developers do not have any real leverage over international billion-dollar corporations.
Google has been criticized because it fails to give meaningful clarification when it removes apps from its store.
Privacy of Users
Apple has expressed privacy and security concerns regarding the use of apps from other app stores.
The app store review process can be used to make sure that apps adhere to their privacy policies. The majority of users do not read these, but apps are already able to share and access a lot more information than users realize.
Third-party app stores will likely create a compromise between freedom and safety for users. Some users prefer Apple’s and Google’s privacy policies. Some users prefer an open environment, where they are able to install apps developed by smaller independent developers who do not have to go through the hoops of large app stores.
Evidence from lawsuits proves that Apple originally intended to support running applications outside of its app store. Apple may be forced to reconsider by the Digital Markets Act.
It is only when the DMA is implemented properly that it will deliver results to users and developers. Is set to become a regulator by the European Commission for the first time. It will take some time, however, and the European Commission will need to build a team that is large enough to provide meaningful enforcement and oversight.
This story was last updated on 9 June 2022. Apple’s app store now has 2 million apps instead of 4 million. The CMA’s interim reports were quoted. Changed the sentence: They must pay Apple, their competitor, who operates the store platform, 15% or 30% of revenue.
To: They must pay Apple, the rival company that operates the Apple Store, 15% or 30% on the revenue they generate via this platform.


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It had been sold out on the market for two years
Starting now, you can come to Albet i Noya to visit the winery... or simply come to have an appetiser with our organic wines, Espinaler products, and the best views of the Penedès.
The latest vintage of this iconic Albet i Noya wine has won another gold medal, this time at the international Mundus Vini contest.
Reserva Martí 2011 was the only wine from DO Penedès to win a gold medal at the international Millésime Bio competition.
We have just launched a new image for the classic Penedès wines onto the market, which from now on, will be called Efecte.
A new first-place award has been won by the vineyard’s flagship red wine, the Reserva Martí, meaning another gold medal.


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So you’re interested in Mortal Kombat X’s new DLC fighters, but don’t know if you want to dish out the $29.99 for the Kombat Pack? Ed Boon and the team at NetherRealm has you covered then.
Mortal Kombat X will feature a new mode called the “Challenge Towers” and inside this mode will be a “Premium Tower,” this mode will allow you to play some challenges as the new DLC characters for those specific challenges. This will allow you to test out the characters and decide if you would like to pay for them to be unlocked for the rest of the game.
Mortal Kombat X launches this week (April 14th) with the DLC fighters to come later, of which features Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees, and the Predator.


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Stitcher, the podcast app recent off an acquisition by Pandora, is about to roll out an overdue makeover for its Android customers with higher fine-tuning relating to looking, taking part in, and monitoring the reveals you need to take heed to.
The brand new search for cellular
The brand new look is being dubbed an entire “rebuild” for the app which hasn’t structurally modified through the years. There is a devoted “My Podcasts” tab that includes episodes customers have but to complete and reveals they’ve favorited. Different adjustments embrace higher search filters and consequence sorting, user-curated teams of reveals, the power to set the variety of episodes that must be auto-downloaded, and finer increments on playback pace settings as much as 3x — an enchancment from 0.5-point intervals as much as 2x.
Stitcher’s previous look on v4.8 of its Android app, final up to date in April
Revised designs are additionally out there for the iOS and desktop variations in addition to the publishers’ portal.
We suspect that the brand new look will seem with v5.0 of Stitcher which you’ll be able to search for on the Play Retailer or APK Mirror.


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Turkey to open new trade gate with Iran
Turkish Customs and Trade Minister Hayati Yazici says the country plans to open new border gates with Iran, Iraq, and Georgia, reported Press TV .
Yazici said on Sunday in Ankara that the project had already gone underway since the volume of Turkey's foreign trade had witnessed a considerable growth and the available gates could not meet the demands.
The Turkish official noted that the gate with the Islamic Republic would be set up at Dilucu region -- in the eastern Turkey province of Igdir -- on the common border with Iranian province of West Azarbaijan.
The portal is expected to open up in 2013 as the fourth crossing between the two countries.
Turkish and Iranian officials are planning a joint field visit soon to decide on the exact location of the crossing, Yazici stated.
He added that the value of Iran-Turkey trade had surpassed USD 11 billion over the past eight years. Iranian and Turkish officials have repeatedly voiced determination to enhance the volume to USD 30 billion in the coming years.
Yazici added that Ankara also planned to open four such gates with Georgia and another four with Iraq.
The official noted that the past eight years had also seen a five-fold rise in the amount Turkey's trade with Georgia, while taking the volume of bilateral trade with Iraq to USD 8 billion.


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NO MORE MASKS? WHAT DO I DO NOW?
On April 3, 2020, the CDC recommended that Americans wear masks in offices, stores, restaurants and in all public places. The adjustment for employer, employees and patrons was significant, but because it was mandated, at least in New York, most citizens complied, and it soon became the norm in society. Last week, on May 13, 2021, the CDC radically changed its recommendations, stating that masks are no longer required for vaccinated Americans at almost all indoor and outdoor venues. Effective May 19, 2021 New York State has adopted the CDC recommendation with no further guidance. Though this is wonderful news for everyone, it will create new challenges for employers and business owners.
Let’s start with business owners and how they handle internal employees. Employers are permitted to ask that their employees provide proof of vaccination; this is not a privacy issue. Employers need to have an understanding of what percentage of their staff is vaccinated to assist in making decisions about masking. Of course, employers still have the option to require all their employees to wear masks, but expect push back from vaccinated staff. Employers also have the option to permit only those vaccinated to go mask-less, but this could create a “culture war” within your staff. And of course, employers can likely just permit everyone to go without masks, vaccinated or not. The biggest issue here is that vaccinated people with unvaccinated children will be frustrated that unvaccinated employees could still expose them to Covid, that they could ultimately pass on to their kids. So unfortunately, there really is no perfect choice. Employers will have to make judgment calls and choose the “lesser of the evils”, but unless your entire staff is vaccinated, there simply is no perfect choice.
Employers that have staff that frequently interacts with customers, such as at restaurants or retail stores, face even more difficult choices. Previously, as much as some people objected to wearing masks, it was the law and owners and their customers were forced to comply. Now, the rules have changed 180 degrees. It is simply unrealistic that companies are going to seek proof of vaccination from their customers. This will turn customers away and create instant conflict. Thus, business owners have to assume that unvaccinated customers will come to their establishment without masks. Unless New York State establishes rules to prohibit this, employers may have to accept that customers will be unvaccinated and also mask-less. Customers may be more comfortable wearing masks, vaccinated or otherwise. This is certainly appropriate, and no customer should be made to feel awkward for wearing a mask. Lastly, in commercial settings the employer does need to ensure their employees comply with the new CDC guidelines. If an employee will not get vaccinated, the employer can and should require them to wear masks around customers.
As with everything related to Covid-19, things move quickly and change just as fast. Employers have to make decisions based on the facts and law of today and must be flexible enough to change when the facts and law change. Be pragmatic, be flexible and be reasonable and more times than not, you will be making a good decision for your business.
Capacity Restrictions Lifted
In addition to new masking regulations, as of May 19, 2021, capacity restrictions in most industries will be lifted, subject to ongoing 6-foot social distancing requirements pursuant to CDC guidance. In that regard, capacity will only be limited by the space available for individuals (or permitted groups of individuals) to maintain the required social distance of 6 feet.
However, given that the CDC and NYS have advised that fully vaccinated individuals do not need to maintain social distance, businesses may eliminate the 6-foot social distancing requirements if all individuals present proof of full vaccination.
Changes in capacity notwithstanding, most existing industry-specific health and safety requirements will remain in effect, such as required health screenings, face covering requirements (for unvaccinated individuals), safety measures, collecting contact information for tracing, enhanced disinfection protocols and ventilation requirements.
Industry-specific changes for New York State
- Indoor dining capacity in NYC is now 75%.
- Seating at bars is now permitted in NYC as well, subject to applicable distancing requirements. Note that the most recent guidance does not provide for physical barriers to replace distancing requirements for bar seating.
- Effective May 17, the curfew for outdoor dining is lifted.
- Effective May 19, the indoor dining capacity for all of NYS, including NYC, increases to 100%.
- Effective May 31, the curfew for indoor dining is lifted.
In-Person and Catered Events
- Indoor event capacity has increased to 75% or 150 people, whichever is less, with proof of full vaccination or recent negative COVID-19 test result required for indoor events with 101-150 attendees.
- The social gathering limit for outdoor events is 500 people, without the need for proof of full vaccination or recent negative COVID-19 test result.
- Effective May 17, the curfew is lifted for events where all attendees provide proof of full vaccination or recent negative COVID-19 test result.
- Effective May 19:
- The social gathering limit for indoor events increases to 250 people; indoor event capacity increases to 100% capacity, up to 250 people without proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result.
- Event capacity, both indoors and outdoors, may exceed the social gathering limit (250 indoors, 500 outdoors) and the 6-foot distancing requirement may be relaxed, subject to 100% capacity limitation, if all attendees provide proof of full vaccination.
- Effective May 31, the curfew is lifted for all events.
- Office capacity is now 75%.
- Effective May 19, office capacity will increase to 100%.
Retail Stores, Museums, Gyms/Fitness Centers, Personal Care Services and Other Commercial Settings
- Effective May 19, capacity will increase to 100% at retail establishments, museums, gyms and fitness centers, amusement and family entertainment venues (including theaters, but not stadiums and arenas), hair salons, barber shops and other personal care services establishments, and most other commercial settings.
- Though most theaters can reopen at 100% capacity on May 19, Broadway theaters will officially reopen at 100% capacity on September 14.
If you have any specific questions relating to mask policies for your business, or would like a written mask policy prepared for your business, please contact us at 631-777-2401 ext. 22 or firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Flying Car Makes History, Aces First Flight Between Two Airports
Audi To Phase Out Internal Combustion Engine By 2033
"The transition to purely EVs begins for the luxury automaker.
My Cars Electric: Porsche JV To Manufacture High-Performance Batteries
"Porsche AG has teamed with Custom Cells to produce high-performance battery cells.
Tesla surges yet again, extending its winning streak to 11 days! What's happening?
On Friday, Tesla stock spiked over 7.4% early in the trading session and is now up 5%, leading the rise in NASDAQ 100 index components. The stock is in its 11th consecutive trading day of gains, with a cumulative increase of over 38% in 11 days.
New EV Makers Face Intensifying Competition as Traditional Automakers Gain Ground
As new energy vehicle brands continue to announce their April delivery results, a growing divide is becoming apparent among emerging automakers. Li Auto has managed to surpass both NIO and XPeng in deliveries last month, while traditional automakers' new energy brands are steadily growing, gradually chipping away at the market share of the newcomers.
Tesla Raises Car Prices Across Markets, China Sees Biggest Increase
Global electric vehicle pioneer Tesla has been frequently adjusting the prices of its electric cars, and on Monday, it raised the prices of its two best-selling models.
BYD Slashes Seagull Electric Hatchback's Starting Price by 6.3%
Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD (002594.SZ) has reduced the starting price of its Seagull hatchback by 6.3%, now starting at 73,800 yuan ($10,658.89), as displayed on the company's website. The vehicle received considerable attention at the Shanghai auto show, where it was initially advertised at 78,800 yuan - half the cost of the most affordable new energy vehicles on the market.
BYD's Seagull EV Steals the Spotlight with Unbeatable Price at Shanghai Auto Show
At the Shanghai auto show this week, a bright yellow hatchback named "Seagull" attracted huge crowds. Developed by China's largest electric vehicle (EV) maker, BYD, the affordable Seagull is priced at 78,000 yuan ($11,300), approximately half the cost of other new energy vehicles available in the market.
Ford Pledges $1.3 Billion to Transform Canadian Plant into Electric Vehicle Hub
Ford Motor announced on Tuesday that it will invest approximately $1.3 billion (1.8 billion Canadian dollars) in its Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada, to convert the facility into a cutting-edge electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing hub.
Evergrande's EV Subsidiary Faces Production Halt Due to Funding Shortfall
China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Ltd, the electric vehicle (EV) subsidiary of the troubled China Evergrande Group, warned on Thursday that it might have to cease production if it cannot secure new funding.
'Attack On Titan' Season 4 Part 3 Update: New Image Sees The Calm Before The Storm
"Attack on Titan" Season 4 Part 3 will finally be out in March.
How to avoid overpaying for car repairs
One of the worst things that can happen to your budget is an unexpected car repair. If you're not careful, it's easy to overspend on repairs. Here are a few tips to help you avoid overpaying for car repairs:
3 Ways Autonomous Vehicles Will Change Auto Insurance
The automotive industry is changing, and while at first people assumed the changes might take decades to even show up, things are happening faster than people imagined. It is not long back when the most a car would have would be a CD player and that would be considered cutting-edge technology.


text: Travel Weekly's Cruise E-Letter: Sept. 23, 2003 September 23, 2003 Share 1 -- MORE THAN 4.5 MILLION passengers worldwide, including nearly 4 million North Americans, cruised on a Cruise Lines International Association-member line during the first half of 2003, according to CLIA. That's a 13.6% increase over the first half of 2002. More than 2.3 million of those people cruised during second-quarter 2003, a 5.7% year-over-year jump. CLIA-member ships sailed at 100.7% occupancy during the first half of 2003 -- which CLIA executive director Bob Sharak said was because of "the joint efforts of the industry and its professional travel agent partners." PROFITS WERE UP at Carnival Corp. and plc. The world's largest cruise company in the world reported net income of $734.3 million for the third quarter ending Aug. 31, a 47% jump over third-quarter 2002. Revenues for the quarter were $2.52 billion, compared with $1.44 billion in 2002. Net revenue yields were down 3.4% but were better than Carnival's previous estimates of a 4% to 6% drop. The decline was based primarily on lower cruise ticket prices. The earnings were reported on a pro forma basis.ALHTOUGH THE THIRD-QUARTER yields came in ahead of projections, Carnival executives sounded a note of caution heading into the seasonally slower fourth quarter. Yield is projected to fall 4% to 6% compared with last year. Frank noted the expansion in capacity means as more and more ships repositioning back to the Caribbean, pricing becomes more agressive. The Carnival plc brands also tend to be more seasonal.ULTRA OF THE SEAS: Royal Caribbean Cruises placed its order for what will become the largest cruise ship in the world. The Ultra Voyager will be 160,000-plus tons and carry 3,600 passengers in lower berths, which makes it 15% larger or, in RCCL's words, "an even larger model" of the current world's-largest-class of ship, the Voyager series. The Ultra Voyager will be built by Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Finland and will be delivered in May 2006. Ship costs are estimated at just over $200,000 per guest berth. Meanwhile, the Ultra could be one of at least two: the yard also granted the company an option for a second Ultra Voyager, with a 2007 delivery date. The Jewel of the Seas, meanwhile, will be RCCL's final 2,110-passenger Radiance-class ship -- at least for now -- when it is delivered in 2004. RCCL said it will not exercise its two long-standing options for fifth and sixth Radiance-class ships.NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE will get two new ships as well. The orders were placed by parent company Star Cruises at Germany's Meyer Werft shipyard for two 2,400-passenger ships for delivery in fall 2005 and spring 2006. The two ships together are estimated to cost about $790 million.THE DELTA QUEEN STEAMBOAT CO. said its sales of on-the-river vacations more than doubled in the January-to-August period, compared with the first eight months of 2001. And gross sales during the first two weeks of September set a record, the company said, at $2.4 million and $2.7 million, respectively. The DQSC, which was purchased by Delaware North Cos. of Buffalo, N.Y., in May 2002, attributed the sales spike to coordinated direct mail/ad campaigns and an early booking bonus program.CARNIVAL CORP.'S CFO Gerald Cahill said the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations for section 883 of the U.S. tax code, the section that exempts international shipping companies from U.S. taxes. How those regulations are defined: cruise operations can be taxed on "nonshipping" items that are U.S. sourced. For example: U.S.-based shore excursions, the sale of air fares and cruises-to-nowhere that leave and return to U.S. ports are subject to U.S. tax laws. The changes go into effect in Carnival's next fiscal year, Cahill said. "The definitions are what we were expecting," he added, saying it is a "minimal" part of Carnival's business.THE CARNIVAL MIRACLE will land in New York next summer for sailings from the Big Apple to Port Canaveral, Fla., and Nassau and Freeport, Bahamas. The 2,124-passenger ship, which is currently under construction, will begin its seven-day Saturday departures on June 12. It also will offer a one-off five-day cruise from New York to New England and Canada on June 7.THE SEVEN SEAS NAVIGATOR, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises' 490-passenger ship, will make its first calls in Tampa, Fla., in November. The ship offers four voyages from Tampa beginning Nov. 8: a 10-day southeren Caribbean cruise from Palm Beach to Tampa, two seven-day western Caribbean roundtrip Tampa cruises and a 10-day southern Caribbean voyage from Tampa to Fort Lauderdale.NEW HIRES: • Holland America Line appointed Tracey Kelly vp-sales, taking over a spot vacated by Linda Elhenberger. Kelly comes from Carnival Cruise Lines, where he was vp-sales, southern region. • Oceania Cruises named Victor Gonzalez, formerly with ANC Rental Corp., senior vp-passenger services.


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Tesco Launches New Plant-Based Food Range
Tesco has announced that it has launched a new range of affordable, plant-based food items.
Branded as Tesco Plant Chef, the range includes butternut cauliflower macaroni pasta, breaded soya goujons, battered fish-free fillets, and mushroom pizza.
The retailer will also install dedicated plant-based and vegetarian zones in its stores to help customers find the products easily.
Derek Sarno, head of Tesco’s plant-based innovation, said, "The biggest impact we can make as individuals, for our health but also that of the planet, is to eat more plants.
“At Tesco, we’re making that easier than ever by providing the widest and best range of plant-based options available on the UK high street.”
Some of the items from the new range will also be placed in the meat aisle to offer flexitarians an alternative, the retailer said.
According to IRI data from September 2019, plant-based foods have emerged as the biggest culinary trend of the decade, with demand helping to boost the chilled vegetarian/vegan sector by 31%.
The new range aims to cater to this demand by offering easy to prepare plant-based swaps of traditional family favourite dishes.
The retail giant also aims to add more plant-based food items to its Wicked Kitchen range.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.


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Updated from 11:40 a.m. EDTMicrosoft ( MSFT) and RealNetworks ( RNWK) announced a $761 million deal Tuesday to settle their antitrust case and create a new partnership to distribute Real's music and digital game services through the MSN network. RealNetworks shares soared 35% before the market opened on reports that the companies were near a settlement of RealNetworks' 2003 antitrust suit. Shares of Real were recently trading up $2.04 at $7.78, while shares of Microsoft shed 11 cents to $24.35. Under the agreement, Microsoft will pay Real a $460 million up-front cash payment to resolve all damages claims and give Real expanded access and long-term licenses to a wide range of Windows Media and securities technologies. Under separate music and games agreements, Microsoft is scheduled to pay Real an additional $301 million in cash and provide services over 18 months in support of Real's product development, distribution and promotional activities. Microsoft will promote Real's Rhapsody subscription service on MSN Web sites and offer RealNetworks' digital games through MSN Games and Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360. Microsoft will earn credits toward the $301 million for subscribers that MSN delivers to Real. Real and Microsoft also will collaborate on casual games, with Real creating a new subscription service to be offered on MSN Games and developing a series of new casual games for Xbox Live. In addition, Real will take steps to support MSN Search, Microsoft's Internet search product that competes against Google ( GOOG) and Yahoo! ( YHOO), and Real and Microsoft will jointly promote use of Windows Media technologies with Rhapsody to Go. Microsoft's Bill Gates and RealNetworks chief Rob Glaser were scheduled to hold a press conference about the agreements at 1 p.m. EDT in Seattle. RealNetworks sued Microsoft in December 2003, charging the software titan violated antitrust laws in the media-player market. Seattle-based RealNetworks charged its Redmond rival with abusing its monopoly power by restricting how PC makers install competing media players while forcing every user of the Windows operating system to take the Microsoft media player.
RealNetworks' suit piggybacked a similar antitrust in the European Union, which has required Microsoft to sell versions of its Windows operating system without its media player. Microsoft is currently appealing the EU ruling but a final ruling could take years. The pact with Real is the latest in a string of settlements that Microsoft has entered to put its legal battles behind it. Earlier this year, Microsoft agreed to pay IBM ( IBM) $850 million in an antitrust settlement. In April 2004, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems ( SUNW) settled an antitrust and patent dispute in a deal valued at nearly $2 billion. Microsoft previously paid Time Warner's ( TWX) AOL $750 million in 2003 to resolve their legal differences. "This was probably the largest outstanding adversary that they were still doing battle with," said Tony Ursillo, a software analyst with Loomis Sayles, which owns Microsoft shares but doesn't have a stake in RealNetworks in its $68.4 billion in assets under management. "It's been important for Microsoft to get back to the business of creating software and discovering new markets. They got to the point where they realized that all of these lawsuits were becoming an obstacle to doing that. Other than that, it's just a case of finding the right price."


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Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday its global production rose for the first time in a year in August as Japanese automakers continued to recover from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Total domestic production of cars, trucks and buses produced by Toyota and its two affiliates — Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors — rose 12.0 percent from a year earlier to 311,153 vehicles.
Toyota resumed full production at all of its North American plants this month and said it will expand U.S. output of small engines.
“The bottleneck disruptions in the parts supply seem to be ending quicker than expected,” said Satoru Takada, an analyst at TIW Inc. in Tokyo. “Supply of parts, including microcontrollers, have normalized, helping Toyota’s production return to normal.”
In the April-July period, Japan’s overall auto output fell 34%, or 1.4 million vehicles, compared to the same period in the previous year.
Japanese carmakers still face big hurdles, however, beginning with a record-high yen that has eaten into repatriated profits from overseas operations and made building cars for export uneconomical.
The automaker plans to terminate exports of its Camry midsize sedan to North America and shift to local production to help offset the yen’s strength.


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Wang Jianzhou, director general of the China Association of Public Companies and a former China Mobile chairman, has rejected the concerns over 5G business potential. Wang said that applications for the 5G technology will come in time.
Speaking on the sidelines of China Week event in Beijing, Wang mentioned that attention around 5G is shifting from technical capabilities to use cases following the release of 3GPP specifications for non-standalone New Radio (NR) in December 2017.
“The new focus is on applications. At present, we don’t have an existing business model. Applications and demonstrations conducted at the recent Mobile World Congress are just the imagination of engineers and vendors, and still need to be tested in the market,” he added.
Wang is positive that 5G applications will emerge. He explained that the situation is similar to the year 2000 when governments issued 3G licences, but operators questioned the use cases for the technology. It was only when Steve Jobs launched the iPhone did people realise what 3G was for. I’m sure in several years we will have plenty of use cases based on 5G.
Commenting on the Chinese market, Wang said that he doesn’t see the lack of a clear business model as a problem in the short term because, while prices decline each year, traffic volumes increase faster than those reductions. That is the lesson from 3G to 4G. There was a big price drop with 4G, but operators ended up having a little growth in revenue.
Wang added that in the long term, however, operators need to find new revenue growth drivers.


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Investors that purchased Nokia shares 12 months ago have lost two-thirds of their capital. Accepting that the original decision to invest in the company was a high-risk gamble, swallowing this level of financial damage is not only embarrassing, it's more than a little irritating.
Having torn the heart out of the company by dropping its Symbian strategy and forging a link with Microsoft--also labelled by some as a high-risk gamble--CEO Stephen Elop promised at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that the company was now running at a "changed clockspeed." He also indicated that there would be a wave of new devices and software becoming available at an accelerated pace.
While Elop should be acknowledged for kicking some energy back into Nokia and delivering new Windows Phone-based smartphones in record time, his efforts have fallen short.
The dismal news that Nokia's handset division would report a first quarter loss and no likelihood of any change in the second quarter, has unleashed a wave of calls for the company to take radical action.
These include selling off its low-end handset business, which, given that this sector of Nokia's business slumped by a third in the first quarter, is worthy of consideration.
Last year, Motorola managed to persuade Google into buying its phone business for more than $12 billion, but perhaps this stunt can't be pulled again quite so easily.
Selling Nokia in its entirety to Microsoft has been often speculated, but makes little sense to the US software company given its increasing range of handset partners.
Convincing a (Chinese?) company to take its 50 per cent holding in struggling Nokia Siemens Networks is also rumoured to be a possible solution. Navteq--which Nokia acquired for around $7.3 billion in 2008--could also be a target for selling.
One idea that might have legs is for Nokia to offer part of its patent portfolio to the highest bidders to rebuild its cash reserves, which are starting to dwindle. Nokia is said to have only enough cash (€4.9 billion as of the end of its first quarter 2012) to see it through seven quarters like the last.
More job cuts have also been suggested as a possibility, together with the more unusual idea of relocating Nokia's head office to a low-cost country.
Speaking last week on a conference call that warned of the poor first quarter performance, Elop acknowledged that changes might be necessary to sharpen focus on particular devices and markets at the expense of others.
"When we talk about what those structural changes might be, we have to make decisions about are we concentrating on certain markets, are we emphasising certain product opportunities over others, do we sell off certain non-core assets along the way?" Elop said, according to Bloomberg.
Pondering these options does little to reassure unnerved handset buyers and institutional investors.
Nokia is said to have sold more than 2 million Lumia phones in the first quarter. This compares to expected first quarter sales of more than 30 million iPhones and the 37 million Samsung smartphones, according to a poll of analysts conducted by Reuters.
These same industry observers concluded that Nokia needs to sell 27 million Lumia handsets this year, 55 million next year and 94 million in 2014--which looks a fairly tall order.
The market ratings firm Fitch issued a simple statement following Nokia's profits warning that the handset maker's half-yearly operating profits for this year were likely to be even lower than Fitch's current forecasts.
All told, the hill that Nokia has been attempting to climb now looks almost vertical. --Paul


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Southern California's Huy Fong Foods has suspended production of its wildly popular Sriracha hot sauce because of a pepper shortage.
The company says that weather conditions have affected the quality of the peppers they source from farms in California, New Mexico, and Mexico to concoct their signature sauce, also known as "rooster sauce." Drought and hotter-than-normal temperatures have been reeking havoc on many crops throughout the nation, including pepper.
The shortage of peppers began in July of 2020, and the situation is so extreme that Huy Fong has been forced to stop production of three products, the classic Sriracha, Chili Garlic and Sambal Oelek sauces, and they won't be filling any orders until after Labor Day.
In April, they notified distributors that they should not promise deliveries of these sauces, stating, "We understand that this may cause issues," the company wrote. "However, during this time we will not accept any new orders to be placed before September as we will not have enough inventory to fulfill your order."
Huy Fong Foods told Food & Wine magazine "Unfortunately, we can confirm that there is an unprecedented shortage of our products," the company wrote. "We are still endeavoring to resolve this issue that has [been] caused by several spiraling events, including unexpected crop failure from the spring chili harvest. We hope for a fruitful fall season and thank our customers for their patience and continued support during this difficult time."
David Tran began producing Sriracha in 1980 when he and his family launched the Huy Fong Foods company in Los Angeles. Since then, the brand has dominated not only the Asian hot sauce market, but has also become the leading hot sauce nationwide.


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With its not entirely voluntary move to a new location from next March, Art Rotterdam also wants to become more attractive in terms of content. However, in the Tagesspiegel Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas also see dark clouds on the horizon regarding the future of the Mondriaan Fund's accompanying exhibition "Prospects": "The Netherlands still has an exemplary support system for young international artists. However, Eelco van der Lingen, the director of the Mondriaan Fund, is concerned. 'We are currently going through difficult times,' he says. 'The political climate is not an environment that brings great joy. Young artists give us hope, energy, new ideas and help us to develop. It's clear how important these young artists are and what value they add to events like Art Rotterdam.' His organisation is still supported by government funding. But given the clear shift to the right after the November 2023 election, the future is uncertain." I was in Rotterdam for Artmagazine.
Mallorca is to have an international art fair again, the island's president announced on the occasion of a museum opening, reports Clementine Kügler in the FAZ. According to rumours, the option was offered to several art fair organisers, but only one took it up. It remains to be seen whether the politician's indiscretion will actually help in the decision-making process.
The Indian art market seems to be picking up speed again after its long recovery phase from the 2008/9 financial crisis, according to reports from the India Art Fair, including one by Kabir Jahal in The Art Newspaper: "These changes are being remarked on by a number of art market pundits in the fair halls. 'Now is your time to sell a work by [20th-century painter] S.H. Raza-you can name your price. And so younger artists are becoming more expensive,' says Franck Barthelemy, a dealer based between Bangalore and Paris. This is echoed by one fair visitor who acquires art for the corporate and private collections of a 'big, industrialist family'. Speaking anonymously, she says that she has noticed a 'big jump even from last year' for mid-career Indian artists".
Dmitry Rybolovlev has lost his sensational case against Sotheby's in New York. Ursula Scheer summarises in the FAZ what it was all about: "At its core, the trial was once again about the accusation that Bouvier had acted as an art advisor to the oligarch, acting in his interests, and had gone behind the Russian's back as the owner of the artworks he had bought and thus as a dealer into his own pocket - with a hefty profit. [...] Most recently, Rybolovlev failed with a fraud claim against Bouvier in Geneva. The public prosecutor's office there had found 'no evidence of sufficient suspicion' against Bouvier. Bouvier was therefore acquitted in Switzerland. In New York, it was no longer about Bouvier, but about the role of Sotheby's in the transactions that had taken place via the auction house." In her report for the Handelsblatt, Barbara Kutscher lets both sides have their say: "Rybolowlev's lawyer explained after the judgement was announced: 'With this case, we have achieved our goal of shining a light on the lack of transparency that plagues the art market. This secrecy made it difficult to prove complex aiding and abetting fraud. This judgement only underlines the need for reforms to be implemented outside the courtroom. The auction house wrote in a statement: 'Today's verdict reaffirms Sotheby's long-standing commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity, ethics and professionalism in all aspects of the art market. We thank the jury for its verdict, which fully exonerates Sotheby's of any alleged misconduct." Legally, Sotheby's is in the clear. However, Graham Bowley's account in the New York Times of the company's practices, which have been the subject of the proceedings, might make people with less experience of the art market shake their heads.
The Dorotheum auctioned off furniture from the collection of former Tefaf dealer Otto Mitzlaff. Sabine Spindler summarises the sobering result in the Handelsblatt: "The auction at Dorotheum confirms the current situation: the furniture market is a buyers' market across the board. The perfectly proportioned Empire bench from around 1800 realised 6500 euros, which is very moderate for this elegant piece of mahogany furniture with discreet brass edges and sweeping sabre legs. What is more painful for the furniture connoisseur von Mitzlaff is that the examples with master names and furniture-historical weight did not find new owners." Even museum furniture is now sometimes cheaper than new items in furniture stores.
Barbara Kutscher tries to read trends from Sotheby's annual figures, which are now only of limited significance due to privatisation, for the Handelsblatt: "In a difficult global political and economic environment, the house has maintained its stability and is even expanding. The old adage that investors invest in tangible goods in times of crisis is probably true. The continuing increase in new customers from Asia and the Middle East as well as the droves of 'millennials' and 'Generation Z' at least speak in favour of this. Above all, the appetite for the consumption of luxury goods continues to grow globally. This is supported by the relatively young luxury goods division, which the company has established as a separate department. It now generates sales of 2.2 billion dollars from auctions, which is more than 25 per cent of total sales." In addition, the financing business and private sales have grown strongly. The company is thus continuing to diversify from an art auction house to an all-round service provider for wealthy individuals. Ursula Scheer also looked at the figures for the FAZ: "According to [CEO Charles F.] Stuart, the diversification of the offering and cross-over sales platforms, where objects of different genres are for sale, have proven to be a success. A transfer of wealth is underway and younger clients are increasingly entering the market. Generation X already accounts for more than 40 per cent of bidders at Sotheby's on items worth over a million dollars; millennials are active in both newly established categories and traditional, high-calibre auctions and are interested in cultural heritage."
At the same time, Sotheby's is opening up the price war in terms of fees, reports Susanne Schreiber in the Handelsblatt: "The 1 per cent administration fee charged on all transactions is no longer applicable. The buyer has to pay a combined fee of 20 per cent up to the hammer price of 6 million dollars and 10 per cent for values above that. The hammer price is the net price. This is around a quarter cheaper than before, emphasises 'Sotheby's'."
Judd Tully's report from the New York Old Masters auctions for The Art Newspaper confirms that the auction houses urgently need to come up with something: "Christie's Old Masters Part One sale, staged on Wednesday (31 January), limped to $10.9m ($13.8m with fees) against pre-sale expectations of $18m to $27.2m. (All pre-sale estimates exclude fees.) The equivalent sale in 2023 made $44.2 million with fees, about triple the premium-inclusive total realised in this year's auction. Six of the 78 works were withdrawn before the action began at Christie's, including Niccolo di Pietro Gerini's multi-panel Scenes from the Passion of Christ, which carried an estimate of $1.2m to $1.8m. Of the 72 lots that crossed the block, 30 were bought in, making the sell-through rate an unsettling 58%."
Susanne Schreiber and Christian Herchenröder offer tips for newcomers to the confusing world of art auctions in a loose series in the Handelsblatt: "In German auctions, some of these obfuscation strategies have become established, which are opaque to the layman but obvious to the insider. In one house, the consignor number is given as a fictitious bidder number if an important lot falls through, i.e. receives no bid. The consignor numbers can usually be found in small print at the back of the catalogue. The system of bidder numbers often differs from that of the consignors."
A monumental wall painting in the Deutsches Hygiene Museum Dresden is recognised as an early work by Gerhard Richter following its rediscovery, reports dpa: "'This time he agreed', said the director of the Gerhard Richter Archive, Dietmar Elger. It certainly has to do with the context, 'but it's also a different time'. Richter, who turns 92 on 9 February, is more relaxed. He does not consider his early work to be part of his actual oeuvre, which began in 1962. 'It doesn't have the art-historical significance,' explained Elger. In the 1990s, it was difficult for many to separate the two." The fact that artists themselves are given the power of art-historical interpretation over their work is thanks to an art market that prioritises commerce over science and a policy that drives this very science and its institutions into dependence on economic actors. For years, by the way, someone has been peddling a whole slew of Richter's early works, but he can't sell them because Richter refuses to recognise them. The easiest thing would be for Richter to buy the collection and destroy it.
The resignation of Vittorio Sgarbi from his post as state secretary is reported by dpa: "The trained art historian is suspected in particular of having illegally acquired a 17th century painting. There are also allegations that he paid dearly for lectures when he was already a member of the government." This would fit in with his business behaviour over the last few decades.
A suspect is said to have confessed to the murder of New York gallery owner Brent Sikkema in Rio de Janeiro, reports Adam Schrader on Artnet, citing Brazilian media: "a 30-year-old Cuban national, was arrested just days after the 75-year-old New York gallerist was found dead in his flat in Rio's affluent neighbourhood of Jardim Botânico. Sikkema's death shocked the art world, spurring heartfelt messages of remembrance. Prevez's lawyer Greg Andrade revealed that his client had confessed and alleged the crime was masterminded by another person in an interview with the O Globo newspaper. Edna de Castro, another attorney for Prevez, told Folha de São Paulo that he might have been drugged before the killing."